Streak of Lightning Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked us to help find out about Joe’s day—kind of a separate investigation from the one the state is doing. And something we’re doing quietly.”
    Rich nodded. It wasn’t the first time he’d been involved in the quilt group’s unofficial investigations and was asked to keep it quiet. “I heard this morning that the police think Greg shot him,” he said.
    â€œWhere did you hear that?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was true, but you know the way things get started. A couple of guys I went to school with texted me about it, and someone said Greg was arrested.”
    â€œHe wasn’t,” I assured him. “And Joe wasn’t shot. In fact, like Carrie said, we don’t even know if Joe was murdered. All we know is the death was suspicious. We just want to piece together Joe’s last day to see if he ran into anyone who might have wanted to kill him.”
    Rich raised his eyebrows. He didn’t want to say it, but that didn’t exactly narrow the list of suspects.
    â€œWhat I meant was,” I started again, “we’re trying to see who wanted him dead
yesterday
so much that they actually killed him. Assuming that he was actually killed.” I hadn’t told Carrie yet about my conversation with Larry, but the image of a bruise on Joe’s throat was firmly in my mind.
    â€œI didn’t.”
    â€œOf course you didn’t, Rich,” Carrie jumped in. “But you had a fight with him yesterday. We’re just trying to sort out the facts.”
    â€œI went in to get a couple of slices for lunch,” Rich explained. “I figured it’s been a while since my run-in with him, so maybe he’d let bygones be bygones. I’m working at Jitters now. I’m not causing any trouble. I figured it was stupid to be banned from the only pizza place in town just because I pulled a prank two years ago.”
    â€œWhat prank?” I asked.
    â€œWhen I was in my junior year, me and a buddy went in to Everything Pizza after school and were going to just split a slice ’cause we didn’t have a lot of money to each get our own. But when we were waiting for our food, I kind of stole a pizza Mr. Proctor had on the counter and boxed up for someone to pick up.” He looked embarrassed.
    â€œRich!” Carrie gasped, but Rich’s past as a troublemaker wasn’t exactly a secret. I’d actually met him because he’d stolen some things from a crime scene. But since Carrie had given him a second chance, he’d not only straightened up his act, he’d shown us all what a great kid he was.
    â€œIt was just a goof, you know, and really stupid. I get that. Mr. Proctor went to Jesse to get me charged with a crime, to get my friend in trouble, too. He wanted us sent to juvie, said we were thugs, but Jesse wouldn’t charge us with anything. Instead Jesse went to my dad and told him what had happened. He said we had to make it right. I went back the next day and paid for the pizza, and Jesse told me to stay out of the restaurant and away from the Proctors. Which I did, until yesterday,” he said.
    Rich seemed like he was about to cry. “Carrie’s always saying that I’m an upstanding citizen now, that I’m as good as anyone else. So instead of hurrying past the place like I usually do, I figured it was time to stop being ashamed of myself and to walk in, head held high, and, you know, finally put that stupid prank behind me. Mrs. Proctor was at the counter, and she was really nice about seeing me. She told me that she heard I was doing really well working and everything. I told her I was going to pay. I even had the cash in my hand so she could see I was going to pay.”
    I’m not an advocate of stealing, but as far as I could tell, Joe’s beef with Rich was a minor problem that had been remedied quickly. In a town the size of Archers Rest where people cross paths